Crosswinds Resort Suites Tagaytay became my ultimate choice after having seen some office mates hang out more than a year ago. I checked some blogs, online comments and Agoda to prepare for the big event.
Here's my invitation slash itinerary for my family of three (2+bf):
We initially headed to Good Shepherd (not part of the plan) to get some treats before checking out Tierra De Maria (to pray) and LZM (to have our hearty lunch).
We were hoping to secure our room earlier than the indicated time since I have read how some bloggers were given consideration to check in two hours before the usual time which is 2:00PM. We were not granted what we wanted so we ended up checking out Santa's House and The Yule Shop - both are near the main hotel or what they call as the "Grand Quartier".
The Yule Shop offers mostly Christmas decors from Santa Claus to Snowman to Gingerbread Man stuff. They sell their items at a very reasonable price. The store-in-charge is very approachable and warm. He was able to respond to our questions no matter how much energy we had.
Santa's House on the other hand is every child's dream come true. It has a makeshift chimney, Santa's chair, a 6" ft. Christmas tree, Santa's chair and heaps of toys all over it. The fam had a grand time taking pictures of the place and when we were told by the hotel attendant to wait, BF and I returned to this place to relax (I checked out the dolls and the tiny chairs while he busied himself with a coloring book).
We were allowed to check in at 2:00PM and entered the room at around 2:15PM. We booked for a one-bedroom suite and we loved how inviting the room actually looked. Grand is an understatement.
It helped that their sofa has a pull out bed and we spent the hours watching television, stuffing ourselves with chips, talking about anything and everything under the sun. Whew, talk about bonding time!
We camped inside the suite and helped ourselves with the cooked meals that we brought. Yummy sinigang c/o the mom, inihaw na bangus from LZM, chips from the bro and drinks from the boo. We cooked some of our meals to make them warmer in time for dinner.
Our night itinerary includes checking out the resort's supposed Christmas Tree lighting or probably taking a tour of the area via shuttle. Unfortunately, we were told that they don't have that activity and was told by an attendant that "he'll just get the keys" when we were asking about the shuttle. He stood us up and we waited for half an hour before the receptionist confirmed that the shuttle service is only until 7:00PM. We ended up walking just within the vicinity, taking in the scent of the 20,000 pine trees of the resort.
Our package includes free breakfast for two. We paid for two more stubs for us to have a taste of their breakfast fares. They have limited breakfast fares. Doesn't taste bad but it's nothing extravagant if I'll judge their dishes. They served garlic rice, chicken teriyaki, pork tocino, fish fillet with garlic dip, raisin bread, two kinds of cereals, eggs upon request (sunny/omelette), orange juice, chocolate drink, milk, brewed coffee. I love how they plugged an all-Filipino violin instrumental disc which includes Ngayon at Kailanman, Hanggang, Unang Halik. So calming and classy!
We packed our stuff before 12:00NN because they can't allow us to do a late check out (they cited that they are "fully booked" but this is something which didn't totally convinced me since I noticed how few the visitors are).
Too bad that the Alpine Village hasn't been constructed but the guard told us that it is part of the plan. We had some pictorials at the Crosswinds Cafe, Crosswinds Express and the Giant Christmas Tree.
My family enjoyed their stay but here are my rants and raves:
Rants:
- There should be more signage cards in the area. We ended up somewhere far from the hotel because there were very few guides from the entrance onwards;
- No early check-in and no late check-outs (despite the 1-hour long waiting time and 15-minute check-in time that we endured);
- My fam had problems with the bath room. There were no partitions between the shower area and the rest of the bath room and the floor tends to end up all flooded;
- It was sheer torture when we realized that the room's telephone isn't working. I had to call the receptionist using my cellphone suppose we need something from them. Now I'm worried if I might need to pay more than the usual amount that I'm paying my telco;
- There should be more visual guides - like an information booklet containing Crosswinds' map, the shuttle schedule, etc.
Raves:
- A resort full of courteous staff! For instance, the room attendants, assistants and receptionist (my namesake - Joycee) are all very polite and friendly;
- Free wi-fi inside the room.
Tips:
- The one-bedroom suite is good for just two people but is also suitable for a family of four. Just make sure to bring extra blankets since they charge Php200/blanket;
- Bring your own carpool. Commuting from the main street to the resort is close to impossible (unless you're willing to wait for the shuttle to pick you up from the main entrance);
- Bring your own survival kit aka meals;
- Have an extra room freshener;
- They provide pans, pots, rice cooker and most of the kitchenware.
In general, the place is worth staying in. The management should work together and so something about making the place more enticing by making the services more customer-friendly (see Rants above). I wouldn't mind going back in the future since I have my own expectations now.
